With the arrival of the sailing ship Amerigo Vespucci in Tokyo, the aircraft carrier Cavour and the frigate Alpino in Yokosuka, and most recently the presence of the Pattugliatore Montecuccoli in Okinawa, an unprecedented chapter in diplomatic and defence relations between Italy, Japan and the entire Indo-Pacific region has opened. This was emphasised by the Consul of Italy in Osaka, Marco Prencipe, who visited the Montecuccoli on a stopover in the island to the south of the archipelago, accompanied by A.S. Antonio Natale and the Military Attaché, C.V. Marco Antoniazzi. Mr Prencipe added how 'the presence today of the Offshore Patrol Vessel Montecuccoli is a concrete manifestation of Italy's ability to project - even in this region that is so strategic for the world's geopolitical and geo-economic balances - to invest in sectors with very high technological content such as the naval industry, and is added to that of the sailing ship Vespucci, the ship Cavour, and the Alpino: an articulate presence of the Italian Navy that has also shown in Japan its ability to effectively combine tradition and innovation'. Consul Prencipe recalled what Defence Minister Guido Crosetto himself underlined during his recent visit to Tokyo, namely that such results are obtained when there is a choral effort, when the various players of the public system work in close synergy with each other and with the private sector and industries. The presence of Italian Navy ships is part of a particular international conjuncture and a new phase in relations between Italy and Japan. In January 2023, by the will of the respective prime ministers, relations between Italy and Japan were elevated to the level of strategic partnership. Since then, the strategic partnership has been increasingly cemented through a dense exchange of high-level institutional visits, as well as the finalisation of important agreements in the industrial, scientific, commercial and cultural fields. The recently adopted 'Action Plan 2024-2027 provides for a broad spectrum of bilateral collaborations in the industrial, technological, commercial and cultural fields.
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